At first glance, a bath towel might appear to be nothing special. A simple one just dries you off and gets tucked away until the next use. However, a truly outstanding towel goes beyond the basics—it adds a touch of luxury, transforming a routine task into a small, indulgent moment of comfort.

After researching and testing numerous towels, we’ve consistently recommended the Frontgate Resort Collection Bath Towel since 2017. It’s the softest, most luxurious, and most durable towel we’ve found. If you prefer something other than plush terry, we have a range of alternative options available.

How we tested

Towel sizes can vary significantly, which is why we measure each towel we test to ensure accuracy.

We wash and dry each towel once, inspect it for any shrinkage or fraying, and then continue washing it four more times during the testing process.

We use each towel after a shower to evaluate its drying effectiveness, softness or roughness, and how well it accommodates various body sizes.

We measure the time it takes for our wet test towels to completely air-dry in our bathrooms.

The Frontgate Resort Collection Bath Towel stands out as the softest, warmest, and most luxurious plush towel we’ve tested. Its thickness gives it a high-end, hotel-like feel, making it a top choice.

Even after six years of use, our original test towel remains cozy and absorbent, although it has developed some fading and a few bleached spots from skin-care products.

Available in over two dozen colors—more than any other towel we’ve reviewed—the Frontgate towel also comes in a larger bath-sheet size and pairs well with a variety of matching accessories like bath mats and washcloths.

If you’re looking for a plush and luxurious towel, this is an excellent choice. However, we’ve observed that its price has risen considerably over time, so we’re keeping an eye on this trend and considering other high-quality alternatives.

Target’s Threshold Spa Plush Towel offers the softest and most luxurious feel among towels priced under $20. It’s essentially a budget-friendly alternative to our top pick from Frontgate.

The towel boasts thick, plush terry and solid construction with durable stitching. It comes in nearly a dozen colors and various sizes, including bath sheets, hand towels, and washcloths. Notably, it is one of the few towels we’ve reviewed that has Oeko-Tex’s Made in Green certification. Additionally, it is covered by Target’s one-year return policy.

However, while it provides great value, it doesn’t hold up in the wash as well as the Frontgate towels.

Target’s Casaluna Waffle Towel is a great, budget-friendly option compared to our choice from Onsen. The waffle weave is lightweight, spongy, and highly absorbent.

Even after numerous washes and showers, the towel maintains a nearly new appearance and feel. It comes in about six colors and holds both Oeko-Tex’s Made in Green certification and Target’s one-year return policy.

However, the fabric is rougher than terry and takes longer to air dry compared to our terry budget pick.

If you prefer thinner terry towels with a bit more texture, the Riley Spa Bath Towel is our top pick.

Its terry loops are distinctly defined and loosely woven, providing a unique sensation as each loop glides over your skin. It offers a silky, exfoliating feel without being scratchy.

The Riley towel dries more quickly than the Frontgate option, and its modern design—featuring rounded edges, terry covering the entire surface, and a convenient hanging loop—combines simplicity with elegance.

Even after years of use, our 2021 test towel looks almost brand new, showing no signs of pilling or pulled threads, and retains its luxurious feel. The Riley bath towel is available in eight colors and also comes in a larger bath-sheet size.

For a minimalist, upscale appearance or a towel that dries exceptionally fast, consider the Onsen Waffle Bath Towel.

Featuring a lattice weave (often referred to as waffle or honeycomb), this towel is thinner and more drapey compared to terry cloth.

Crafted from American-grown Supima cotton, the Onsen towel is on the pricier side, but still much more affordable than similar waffle towels imported from Japan. It’s also notably softer and smoother.

While waffle towels can be susceptible to snags, our five-year-old test towel—one of my kid’s favorites—has held up remarkably well with only minor signs of wear.

If you’re a fan of plush terry, though, the lighter, textured feel of the Onsen towel might not be to your liking.

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The research

Why you should trust me

How we picked and tested

Our pick: Frontgate Resort Collection Bath Towel

Budget pick: Target Threshold Spa Plush Bath Towel

Budget pick: Target Casaluna Waffle Towel

Upgrade pick: Riley Spa Bath Towel

Upgrade pick: Onsen Waffle Bath Towel

How to interpret towel terminology

Care and maintenance

Other good towels

What to look forward to

The competition

Sources

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Why you should trust me

I’ve been writing about bath towels for Walletrays since 2017. As a senior staff writer, I’ve written most of our home-textile guides, from cotton sheets to blankets to duvet covers. I’ve built on the research of Melissa Tan and Stephen Treffinger in past versions of this guide, interviewed experts in the towel industry, conducted years of testing with dozens of towels, and I’ve used all of the picks in this guide for several years now. The towels we recommend are the towels I would spend (and have spent) my own money on.

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How we picked and tested

I’ve considered almost 200 towels and tested about 50 different kinds since 2017. After years of talking to experts, researching, and testing towels, I’ve learned a lot about what makes a great one. These are the criteria I look for when deciding what to test and what becomes a pick:

• Absorbency: A towel should first and foremost be effective at drying you off. It should wick water away from your body and into itself, not just push the water around. I look at customer reviews and reader comments for our picks to find towels that do their one real job well.
• Durability: Towels should last through many washes without unraveling or losing their absorbency (avoiding fabric softeners helps with the latter). Pilling, shrinkage, and color fading are normal over time, but these things shouldn’t happen after just a few washes—customer reviews and reader comments help us track this, too.
• Ample body coverage: I look at a towel’s listed measurements to gauge how well it will fit most bodies. After years of testing with people of different heights and sizes, I’ve learned when a towel will feel stingy (or even just too enormous for most people). For example, a towel that’s less than 56 inches long probably won’t wrap completely around a person who wears a women’s size 16—the national average—and a towel that’s less than 30 inches wide might be too short for someone of average men’s height (5-foot-9), depending on their torso length. I also look for towels that come in a bath-sheet size for taller or larger bodies.
• Pleasing texture: A towel should feel comfortable against your skin, whatever that means to you. Some people like super-plush, soft towels, while others prefer thinner, pleasantly scratchy ones. I research online to try and find options for everyone, but I also visit stores including Kohl’s, Target, Macy’s, and JCPenney to touch and feel as many towels as possible before deciding what to test.
• Reasonable drying time: A towel should air-dry quickly enough that it’s ready for your next shower and less prone to developing a mildewy smell.
• Made of 100% cotton (preferably extra-long-staple): While some people prefer towels made from alternative fibers like modal or bamboo rayon, experts generally agree that 100% cotton provides the best mix of absorbency, softness, and durability for most users.In my testing process, I start by measuring each towel to ensure they match their listed dimensions and assess their feel and construction. After washing and drying each towel once, I measure them again to check for shrinkage and inspect for any signs of fraying, pilling, pulled threads, color fading, or roughness. Towels that don’t pass this initial assessment are eliminated.For the remaining finalists, I test them after a shower, evaluating their absorbency, comfort, and coverage (I wear a women’s size 16). I also time how long it takes for the towels to air-dry. After this, I wash each towel four more times for a total of five cycles. This ensures that any added softeners are washed out and the towel’s true texture is revealed.Finally, I recheck each towel for any signs of damage or wear and test them once more for absorbency. I also review feedback from readers and periodically check customer reviews to stay updated on any potential issues or complaints.

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Our pick: Frontgate Resort Collection Bath Towel

The Frontgate Resort Collection Bath Towel has been our top pick since 2017, and it’s the best terry towel I’ve tested.

It’s absorbent (and stays that way through countless washes). After seven years of testing and countless uses, our original Frontgate towels have consistently retained their absorbency and cozy warmth. I’ve since tested several newer Frontgate towels, and they’ve all performed just as well after a shower. Their reliable quality and performance have earned my trust.

Frontgate towels are the densest, softest I’ve ever tried. I’ve spent far too much time in testing just squishing our pick from Frontgate with my fingers because it’s the densest, softest towel I’ve ever tried. It feels plush and extravagant to use, and it’s made from smooth, long-staple Turkish cotton. Only the Onsen Waffle Bath Towel is made with a higher-quality cotton (extra-long-staple Supima cotton). Like all of our picks, the Frontgate towel is also Oeko-Tex certified.

Terry towels often feel like they drag uncomfortably while you’re drying off, but the Frontgate towel’s pile feels smooth and moves easily over wet skin.

They last for years. After my initial test washes in 2017, the Frontgate test towel looked almost new and actually felt better than it did straight out of the package. I’ve now tested three additional, brand-new Frontgate towels in subsequent rounds of testing over the years, and they’ve all been consistently fantastic through many washes.

At this point, all of our Frontgate test towels have been through scores of washes and years of continuous everyday testing. Their color has faded a little, but the construction on these towels is impeccable, and they have almost no pulls or snags.

This towel comes in more colors than any other towel we recommend. The Frontgate towel is available in about two dozen rich, saturated colors, which means it should work for almost any bathroom’s decor.

Frontgate also makes bath sheets and coordinating accessories, including hand towels, washcloths, and bath mats (also a pick in our guide to the best bathroom rugs and bath mats), if you want to kit out your entire bathroom.

It’s a staff favorite. It’s developed a slight cult following among our staff members and has had consistently high customer reviews for years. Of all the picks I’ve made, in all the guides I’ve written for walletrays, the Frontgate towel is the one I hear people rave about the most.

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Flaws but not dealbreakers

It isn’t cheap. The price has also steadily increased since we first recommended the towel (it was around $30 when we first tested it in 2017). But Frontgate always has several sales each year, so it’s not unusual to find it for about $10 cheaper. If you’re turned off by the price, we recommend waiting for a sale.

It’s a thick, bulky towel. If you know you prefer thinner, lightweight towels, it might feel overwhelming and cloying to use. It might also be too soft for people who like towels that are pleasantly scratchy. Its heft also means you can’t fit as many towels in a load of laundry as you would with our other picks (especially the much thinner Onsen towel).

Because the Frontgate towel is so hefty, air-drying times vary depending on the climate where you live. To prevent bacteria from moving in and making themselves at home, you may need to wash your Frontgate towel more often if you live in a humid or wet climate.

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Budget pick: Target Threshold Spa Plush Bath Towel

Target’s Threshold Spa Plush Towel is the best terry towel I’ve tested under $20. Our budget towel picks frequently get discontinued, so if you like it I wouldn’t wait to stock up.

It’s plush like our top pick, but it is a fraction of the price. If you like a thick, soft towel, the Spa Plush is the closest I’ve found to our longtime favorite from Frontgate. It feels smooth on the body, and in testing it was especially soft on the face (and I have sensitive skin). The Spa Plush is luxurious like the Frontgate, but I could buy three of them for about the same price as one of our top pick.

It’s absorbent and dries surprisingly fast. In my shower testing the Spa Plush soaked up water quickly and was one of the first to feel dry enough to use again. After about 14 hours on a hot, dry, summer day in the Pacific Northwest, it felt just a little bit damp. Our other budget pick, Target’s (much thinner) Casaluna Waffle Towel, was still wet.

It’s well made and comes with Target’s excellent return policy. The Spa Plush towel stands out with its neat stitching and straight edges compared to other towels under $20 that I tested. Even after multiple washes, it showed no loose threads or snagged terry loops. It holds Oeko-Tex’s Made in Green certification, and as a Target brand, it also benefits from a generous one-year return policy.

It comes in nearly a dozen colors and is available in a larger “oversized” bath sheet size, as well as hand towels and washcloths.

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How the Spa Plush has held up

Before I officially tested the Spa Plush in summer 2024, I bought several for our guest bathroom in December 2023. Over the next seven months, they were used by houseguests and my tween daughter, and I washed them frequently. While they remain soft and absorbent, they haven’t held up as well as the Frontgate towels I’ve had for years. They feel a bit fuzzier and the terry looks more compressed. Nevertheless, considering the price, I’m not too concerned. They offer a touch of luxury for guests but are durable enough to withstand my tween’s extensive use of various skin-care and hair-care products.

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Flaws but not dealbreakers

As noted earlier, these towels don’t hold up in the wash as well over time as the Frontgate towels do, and they do tend to collect a fair amount of lint. However, they retain their softness better than other budget-friendly options I’ve tested and are less prone to unraveling or snagging.

They’re also a couple of inches shorter than the Frontgate towels, which is common with less expensive options. If you prefer the comfort of wrapping yourself in a larger, more enveloping towel, you might consider upgrading to the oversized (bath sheet) Spa Plush size.

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Budget pick: Target Casaluna Waffle Towel

If you prefer a waffle towel to traditional terry, Target’s Casaluna Waffle Towel is a great option, and it’s similar in price to the Threshold Spa Plush. As with the Spa Plush, our budget-pick towels are frequently discontinued, so we recommend stocking up on this one if you like it.

It’s a solid budget-friendly alternative to our Onsen pick. Like our upgrade pick from Onsen, the Casaluna Waffle is light and springy, and it has a coarser texture than terry, if you prefer a little bite to your towel. It’s longer than most similarly priced terry towels, and it’s stretchier and lighter, so it stays put when you wrap up in it while getting ready. These towels fold up smaller than our terry picks, so they’re also easier to store. And, as you can with our other budget pick from Target, you can buy three Casaluna Waffle towels for about the same price as a single Onsen.

The springy lattice weave of the Casaluna waffle towel means it can be more prone to loose threads and snagging on jewelry.

It’s absorbent and well made. It’s one of the most absorbent towels I’ve tried, soaking up water with a single pass over the skin. There were one or two loose threads here and there around the edges, but overall its construction was excellent for the price. And after multiple washes and showers, the waffle weave didn’t snag or pull. Our test towel still looks almost new.

It also comes with Target’s generous return policy. The Casaluna Waffle carries the Made in Green certification from Oeko-Tex as well as Target’s one-year return policy for its own brands. It’s available in half a dozen colors, but it comes in only one bath size (a hand towel is also available).

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How the Casaluna Waffle has held up

One of our editors has had these towels since June 2023, and she reports that they still look great. While there are a few snags and loose threads, they are minimal and not very noticeable.

I also purchased a couple of these towels in white for my tween daughter in December 2023, who’s a big fan of waffle towels (she’s been using our Onsen test towel since 2018). After about seven months, the towels remain in excellent condition, retaining their bright white color and feeling just as fresh as when they were new. My daughter has been taking them to camp every day this summer—they’re compact enough to fit into her backpack, lightweight, and generously sized for wrapping up comfortably.

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Flaws but not dealbreakers

Similar to other waffle or lattice towels I’ve tested, the Casaluna Waffle feels scratchier compared to our terry options. It wasn’t very comfortable against my face during shower testing.

It also takes a while to dry. While the Spa Plush terry towel was ready to use again after about 14 hours of air-drying, the Casaluna Waffle still felt damp and chilly to the touch.

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Upgrade pick: Riley Spa Bath Towel

If you prefer terry but don’t like thick, super-soft towels—or if you want a terry towel with a little more style—we recommend the Riley Spa Bath Towel.

It’s thin for terry, with great texture when you run it across your skin. That doesn’t mean it’s a rough towel, though. The Riley and the Frontgate towels are the same weight—700 grams per square meter—but when you look across the surface of the plush Frontgate towel, you see densely packed, fluffy terry. When you look across the surface of the Riley towel, you can see individual terry loops, each with room to move on its own. You can feel each one when you run your fingers over the towel or swipe it across your back. It feels almost ticklish, but not quite. It’s wonderfully tactile if you like a towel with a little more bite to it but don’t want something with a slight scratch (like the Onsen towel).

It folds relatively compactly. The Riley Spa Bath Towel folds up smaller than the Frontgate towel, so it takes up less space on a shelf, but it’s still nice and big for wrapping around the body. Like all of our picks, it comes in a bath-sheet size for more coverage.

It’s quick to absorb water, yet it dries faster than the Frontgate towel. The Riley towel is about as absorbent as our pick from Frontgate and feels efficient and satisfying to dry off with. Because it’s much thinner than the Frontgate towel, it also air-dries faster. When we tested the two against each other during a wet winter in the Pacific Northwest, the Riley towel air-dried in about 20 hours. The Frontgate towel took more than 24 hours.

It has a modern design. The Riley towel is one of the best-looking styles I’ve tested. Most terry towels have a dobby—a strip of flat-woven fabric—at either end. The Riley towel is terry across the entire surface, giving it a far less traditional look than most terry towels. It also has rounded edges, with a loop on one side for hanging on a bathroom hook. It has a great drape compared with our other picks, which adds to its modern, unfussy feel. It’s made with long-staple Egyptian cotton, and like our other picks, it’s Oeko-Tex certified.

The Riley Spa Bath Towel is thinner than the Frontgate Resort Collection Bath Towel, and it has more texture when you run it across your skin. It’s quick to absorb water and feels almost ticklish, but not quite.

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How the Riley Spa Bath Towel has held up

After two years of constant use and numerous washes, our Riley test towel remains in great condition. Although the white towel shows some yellowing in a few areas despite not using bleach, it has lost some of its original softness. Nonetheless, it still feels plush and comfortable after a shower.

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Flaws but not dealbreakers

Previously, we’ve noted complaints from both staff and readers regarding long shipping times and inconsistent customer service from Riley, particularly around 2021, mostly related to comforters. However, we haven’t encountered many issues with the company since then, and the quality of this towel remains high, so we continue to recommend it. If you buy during a sale, be aware that shipping delays are more common—this is when we observed the most complaints. Also, be aware that some towel colors may be frequently out of stock. As always, let us know if you experience any issues.

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Upgrade pick: Onsen Waffle Bath Towel

If plush terry towels feel too heavy or if you want a towel that dries quickly, you may like the thinner texture of a lattice weave (sometimes called a waffle or honeycomb weave); the Onsen Waffle Bath Towel is the best one we’ve tried.

It’s as absorbent as a terry towel, with a coarser texture. A Walletrays pick since 2018, the Onsen towel absorbs water quickly, moves smoothly over the body, and has just a hint of roughness that feels pleasant, perfect for scratching an itch on your back that you just can’t reach. It’s also been my daughter’s favorite towel since we first tested it when she was six—as a kid with sensory-processing issues, she loves the tickle of its texture and its almost weightless feel.

It dries much faster than any other towel I’ve tested. Thick terry towels take anywhere from 15 to 24 hours to air dry, depending on the time of year and climate; after a morning shower during testing, the Onsen felt bone dry by lunchtime, roughly five hours later. It’s thin, and its weave allows for lots of airflow.

It’s less plush, but it takes up less space on the shelf. It’s not as warm as our terry picks—which matters if you like to feel cozy when wrapping up in a towel—but the Onsen towel folds up smaller and takes up less space in your linen closet, a plus if you’re cramped for storage.

It’s our only towel pick made of 100% Supima cotton. Supima is extra-long-staple cotton grown in the United States and known for its durability and softness. An Onsen rep told me that instead of the chemical-softening process terry towels go through, Onsen towels are washed at specific temperatures and for multiple cycles to soften them (part of a process called garment washing). Like all of our picks, the Onsen towel is Oeko-Tex certified.

Unlike other lattice towels, it’s very soft. I’ve tested it against some Japanese lattice towels, like the iconic linen-cotton Kontex (Rikumo) towel, and it’s a lot less scratchy on the skin (and much less expensive). It’s one of the few waffle towels I’ve seen that’s generously sized and comes in a bath-sheet size.

One of the only downsides to the Onsen towel—and any waffle/honeycomb/lattice towel in general—is that the loose weave can be more prone to snagging. 

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How the Onsen Waffle Bath Towel has held up

Waffle fabric is more elastic than terry and can lose its shape over time, plus it’s more prone to snags and pulls. Despite the Onsen towel stretching a bit, it has held up remarkably well considering the rough treatment it’s received. My 11-year-old daughter has used it since she was 6, often leaving it on the floor, using it as a grooming mat for her pet bunnies, and putting it through several hot, sanitizing wash-and-dry cycles during stomach flu episodes. It still looks great with minimal snags, no noticeable color fading, and the texture remains mostly the same. It remains her favorite towel.

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Flaws but not dealbreakers

$50 for a towel is a tall ask, but the Onsen towel is still less expensive than other high-end waffle towels we’ve considered. If you’re not sure if you’ll like a waffle towel, and you don’t want to spend that much, try our budget waffle pick, the Target Casaluna Waffle.

One of our staffers who has an Onsen towel told me, “Once in a while, I’ll catch a bracelet or ring in the loose weave—which is annoying—but I love the feel of it so much that it’s worth it to me to pay a little extra attention while drying off.”

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How to interpret towel terminology

Towel labels and descriptions often include industry jargon that might be unfamiliar, but understanding these terms can help you determine how the towel is made, what it’s made of, and how it might feel:

Long-staple/extra-long-staple cotton: Like other home textiles, such as sheets, the best towels are made from long-staple or extra-long-staple (ELS) cotton, which results in smoother, stronger yarns. A “staple” refers to the length of the cotton fiber or thread. According to Rick Basinger, director of innovation and quality assurance at 1888 Mills, “The longer the staple length, the smoother the yarn is going to be.” Generally, long-staple fibers are between 1.125 and 1.25 inches long, while ELS fibers are 1.375 inches or longer. Long-staple cotton is also more flexible, which helps extend the towel’s lifespan.

Turkish/Egyptian/Pima/Supima cotton: Labels indicating Turkish, Egyptian, Pima, or Supima (a brand name for American Pima) usually refer to long-staple or ELS cotton, all from the same species of extra-long-staple cotton (Gossypium barbadense). However, some manufacturers use terms like “Egyptian cotton” or “Turkish cotton” to market lower-quality, shorter-staple cotton. For more details on cotton quality, check out this blog post.

Combed and ring-spun cotton: High-quality towels often feature cotton that has been combed to remove impurities and lint or ring-spun, a spinning method that requires long-staple cotton to create finer, smoother yarns.

Some manufacturers use terms like “Egyptian cotton” and “Turkish cotton” to sell inferior, shorter-staple cotton.

GSM: Towel weight is measured in grams per square meter (GSM), with thicker terry towels usually having a higher GSM compared to lighter waffle towels. Over recent years, this measurement has become less common: thinner, lower-quality terry towels often omit it from labels or product descriptions, and it’s rarely used for waffle towels. However, plush terry towels, often marketed as luxury or hotel-style towels, generally include GSM as an indicator of their quality. These high-end towels typically have a GSM of 600 or more, reflecting their greater density and higher price due to the increased number of terry loops, which makes them thicker, heavier, and more luxurious.

Oeko-Tex: Oeko-Tex certification guarantees that the fabric is free from harmful substances and processes that could affect people or the environment. While most items we test feature the Standard 100 certification, which focuses on the safety of substances in the fabric itself, Oeko-Tex also offers two more stringent standards: Made in Green, which certifies textiles produced in environmentally-friendly facilities with fair labor practices, and an organic cotton certification.

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Care and maintenance

Manufacturers often treat towels with various finishes, such as fabric softeners, to give them a fluffy, soft feel in the store. However, these treatments can leave a waxy residue that reduces absorbency, so it’s a good idea to wash new towels before using them. Typically, these softeners rinse out by the fifth wash. While occasional use of fabric softener at home is okay if your towels feel rough, avoid using it regularly.

Similarly, using too much detergent can make towels feel stiff and lead to residue buildup. Our appliance team recommends using no more than 2 tablespoons of detergent per load for modern washing machines. Although hot water helps prevent white towels from becoming dingy, it can cause colors to fade more quickly, so it’s best to wash brightly colored towels in warm or cold water. For more tips on washing and maintaining your towels, check out our guide on how and how often to wash them.

Other good towels

If you want a classic terry towel that isn’t as plush as our pick from Frontgate: Garnet Hill’s Signature Egyptian Cotton Towels have ranked well in our tests (we’ve tested them twice), and they come in beautiful colors. They’re thinner than our terry picks, and slightly less absorbent, but they’re comfortable to use, and they hold up in the wash. If the Frontgate Resort Collection Bath Towel is sold out, or you want to spend a little less, it’s a good choice.

If you want a good budget towel and our other picks are unavailable: Target’s Casaluna Organic Bath Towel and IKEA’s Fredriksjön Bath Towel were our top budget alternatives. The Casaluna towel is made from GOTS-certified organic cotton and comes in eight understated colors. It proved to be more absorbent than the Threshold Spa Plush towel, but it did show some pulling and snagging after several washes. The Fredriksjön Bath Towel has a substantial feel and retains its color and texture well through multiple washes. However, it was a bit rougher and heavier compared to our budget terry option.

If you’d like a softer waffle towel: Parachute’s Waffle Bath Towel costs about the same as the Onsen Waffle Bath Towel, but it has a gentler feel on the skin. Our adult testers didn’t love the feel—it clung more to wet skin when drying off—but our kid tester loved it for its softness, larger size, and light weight. Five years later, it’s still in her regular bathroom rotation, and it’s still in great shape.

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What to look forward to

Brooklinen has redesigned its waffle towel, and I’ll be testing the new version soon.

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The competition

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Terry

Riley’s Plush Bath Towel and Brooklinen’s Super-Plush Bath Towel are more plush and luxe than the Target Threshold Signature Spa Bath Towel when they’re new, but they lose more of their softness after a few washes.

Kohl’s The Big One Solid Bath Towel is the best towel I’ve tested under $10, but it is still scratchier and flimsier than our picks. Still, it could be a good option for stocking up a first apartment or college dorm.

JCPenney’s Fieldcrest Heritage Oversized Spa Bath Towel wasn’t as plush as previous Fieldcrest towels we’ve tested (they have often been budget picks in this guide), but it certainly wasn’t the worst towel in our 2023 tests.

Authenticity50’s Essential Cotton Bath Towels weren’t bad, and the towels are made in the United States. But they haven’t been reliably available since 2020.

We tested Target’s Threshold Performance Plus Towel in 2024. It comes in tons of colors, but it felt cheaper, scratchier, and less absorbent than our budget picks.

We tested Target’s Room Essentials Everyday Bath Towel in 2021 as a possible budget pick, but it was thin and not very absorbent. It also took as long to dry as the thickest terry—about 24 hours on a wet winter day in Washington state.

We’ve tested the Snowe Classic Bath Towel twice and, although it’s soft, it clings to wet skin and isn’t as absorbent as our picks.

The Parachute Classic Turkish Cotton Towel was a nice, average towel in our 2017 testing, but Parachute’s waffle towel is better.

The Utopia Towels 600 GSM Luxury Bath Towel from Walmart was absorbent in our 2021 shower tests, but it was too small, and after five washes our test towel looked like it was falling apart.

JCPenney’s Home Expressions Bath Towel felt cheap, thin, scratchy, and too small in our 2023 tests.

In our 2023 tests, Target’s Room Essentials Bath Towel felt more like drying off with a rough washcloth.

We tried the Amadeus Turkish Bath Towel collection in 2021 to see how towels from a real hotel supplier would perform in our tests. Not great, as it turns out. These are considered premium hotel-room towels, the highest-quality designation by this supplier’s definition, but they were noticeably rough and cheap. One towel arrived stuck to itself, and when I pulled to unfold it, several strands of terry snagged right away. It didn’t make it past the initial feel test out of the package.

Caro Home’s Microcotton Luxury Bath Towel 600 GSM was an early upgrade pick in this guide years ago, but in 2017 it didn’t perform as well. It felt thin and wasn’t as absorbent as we’d like.

The Lands’ End Premium Supima Cotton Bath Towel, another early pick in this guide (a runner-up option), didn’t absorb well in our 2017 tests, and we thought it clung to the body too much.

The L.L.Bean Premium Cotton Bath Towel was the fastest-drying terry towel in our first timed test in 2017—it dried in about 10 hours. But it was rough and uncomfortable to use.

In past years we’ve also tested and dismissed the following: the Chakir Turkish Linens Premium Bath Towel, the Pottery Barn Hydrocotton Organic Quick-Drying Towel, the Restoration Hardware 802-Gram Turkish Bath Towel, The Company Store Green Earth Quick-Dry Towel (which may have been redesigned since we first tested it), the Made Here by 1888 Mills Bath Towel, the now-discontinued Nordstrom Hydrocotton Bath Towel, the Walmart Pinzon Heavyweight Luxury Cotton Bath Towel, the IKEA Fräjen Bath Towel, the L.L.Bean Egyptian Cotton Towel, the Royal Velvet Signature Soft Bath Towel, and the Target Fieldcrest Spa Solid Bath Towel.

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Lattice

The Rikumo Vintage Waffle Towel, a classic lattice towel, has been produced in Imabari, Japan, since the 1930s. It’s imported to the United States through a company called Morihata, which sells it to several stores, as well as through its retail site Rikumo. (If you see any of these names credited to an imported Japanese lattice towel—Kontex, Morihata, Rikumo—it’s all the same towel.) It’s a linen-cotton blend, which made it feel scratchier on the skin than the Onsen towel, and it was more clingy while toweling off. We’ve also noticed that this towel is frequently out of stock, a common issue with imports, and it’s very expensive.

The Gilden Tree Modern Style Bath Towel was as absorbent as the other lattice towels we tested but uncomfortable to use. It felt like drying off with a thick, rough dish towel.

We also evaluated an older, discontinued version of Brooklinen’s waffle towel, which was made from the same material as their waffle robe—an item featured in our guide to the best robes.

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Sources

1- Rick Basinger, director of manufacturing and innovation, 1888 Mills, interview, July 12, 2017